Summer Pasta with Walnuts and Ricotta

Easy Summer Pasta

I always think that photographs rarely do justice to lightly-sauced pasta dishes. Somehow if you can’t see the pasta covered in a sauce, you cannot imagine the taste. The summer pasta with walnuts and ricotta dish showcased here is light and tasty and perfect to serve in the summer months. It’s a variation of a DeCecco pasta recipe. Although I don’t always have it on hand, I like to use the DeCecco brand because the pasta is extruded from bronze dies, which create grooves in the pasta’s surface that help it hold the sauce better.

I don’t have any financial arrangement with DeCecco, I just love it and when I see it in the store always buy it in several shapes and sizes. When I made this dish with the walnuts, I thought I had some penne in the pantry but I didn’t so I used linguine. {Actually I did, but someone had used most of it.] Although the shape of pasta doesn’t alter the taste of what it’s tossed with, I think this recipe is made best with a shorter pasta such a penne rigate for even bow ties. I think a shorter pasta keeps those little walnut pieces from self-segregating at the bottom of the bowl.

While the pasta water comes to a boil, prep the sauce. While the pasta is boiling, saute the onions and then the tomatoes in a large pan. Carefully mash the potatoes. Watch out for squirting seeds! Let the savory tomato juice mingle with the onions. Add the arugula and the walnuts and cook, stirring, until the arugula is wilted. Remove from the heat and add the ricotta cheese and stir until well-blended

Reserve one-half cup of pasta water before draining the pasta. Stir the drained pasta into the pan. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir all ingredients together. Add the pasta water a couple of tablespoons at a time to reach your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

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Hi. I'm Barbara Francis and I hope you like authentic Italian food as much as I do. It's simple, fresh, seasonal. What's not to like? And it's part of my heritage. So join me in the kitchen of Italian Food Made Simple. Just step right over the dog, she won't move even if you ask her.